Six Months
by Phantom Silhouette
Summary: NarutoxSasuke: In one fell swoop, he managed to avoid the council and break his best friend. He got what he wanted, and it only took six months. So why does he seem so upset? T for swearing and mild sexual content. DISCONTINUED.
1. Bonds Broken

Six months. That's how long it had been since the village's number one, hyperactive, knuckle-headed ninja had begun dating the emotionally-stunted raven avenger. No one in the village had believed it. Even Naruto had thought it was strange when the Uchiha suddenly asked him out. He had spent four years of his life chasing the man, and even when he brought him back, Sasuke had refused to speak to him. Then Naruto had had to leave for a year...the blonde shook his head, trying to wipe that memory from his mind. He arrived back afterward, and a few days later, Sasuke had treated him to ramen and asked him out, there at the stand. Naruto had been completely blindsided and had gaped at Sasuke for several minutes before replying with a nonchalant 'sure'. Looking back, he had no idea what had compelled him to say yes. Yeah, he had chased Sasuke all over the world for a good part of his life, but did he have _feelings_ for the other man? Apparently so, as they had been dating for six months without any serious problems; in fact, Naruto was happier than he had been for a while. He sighed contentedly and looked down at the parcel on his hand. Wrapped in a silk cloth embellished by the Uchiha clan symbol was a brand new, custom made ANBU mask that had cost Naruto an arm and a leg. It was an anniversary present for his boyfriend...he paused for a moment. Boyfriend. It still felt weird to call Sasuke that. He shrugged it off as he reached the gates to the house. A mischievous grin came over his face, and he raised his hands and formed a seal, his chakra instantly vanishing from existence. Or so it seemed. It was a trick the ero-sennin had taught him for spying on the bath houses in ninja villages. It was also effective when one wanted to surprise their significant others. Smiling at his own ingenuity, Naruto jumped noiselessly over the gate and into the building.

**Linebreak**

He made it inside without incident, as stealthily as the Uchiha himself, and approached the man's bedroom. He looked down the hall to where his own bedroom was; though they were living together, Sasuke had insisted that they have separate rooms. Naruto, then, was actually kind of relieved to hear that, as he had been nervous about moving too fast. The two had yet to sleep together, a thought which, even though he was the one who had insisted they wait, ever so slightly irked him. He shrugged it off and inched closer to the other man's room, taking care not to make the wooden floorboards creak. He reached for the door handle, but paused, very suddenly, when he heard strange noises coming from within the room. He frowned, trying to identify the noises, but couldn't. He shrugged, took a deep, calming breath, plastered on his biggest grin, and thrust the door open, "Happy Anniver-" his words caught in his throat as the strange noises suddenly made painful sense. There, on the center of the bed, was his boyfriend, balls deep in the woman he considered to be his closest and most trusted friend.

"Naruto!" she cried, shoving Sasuke off of her, wincing as his penis exited her. She snatched at a sullied bed sheet and used it to cover herself. Naruto's eyes were wide with shock as he stared at her.

"Sakura...?" he said faintly. The gift in his hand fell to the ground as he spoke, his insides feeling as though they were being torn apart by hot pokers. He placed a hand over his stomach and fought back the wave of nausea that nearly overcame him. Sakura stood and started toward him, her eyes laden with concern. "Don't fucking touch me!!" he roared, and she stumbled back, eyes wide with fear as she noticed the eyes into which she was looking were red and slitted. Naruto stared at her coldly, watching her cower beneath his gaze. She turned away after a few moments, and broke down into sobs. "Pathetic," he mumbled, and turned to face the man in the room, who, after being thrown gracelessly to the ground, had stood and donned an expensive looking silk robe, complete with the Uchiha fan embroidered onto the back. He stared into the dark eyes he had once considered a refuge and found nothing. He looked more closely and saw a flash of something he never thought he would see in those dark eyes. The man was nervous. Naruto smirked, revealing longer than average canines, "Whatsa matter, Uchiha, didn't expect me back so soon?" his smirk widened at the flicker of surprise on the pale features at the gravelly tone his voice had taken. The emotion was gone as soon at it had appeared, and the raven narrowed his eyes.

"Dobe," Sasuke began, but was cut short by the low growl that emitted from Naruto in response to what had become his pet name.

"Don't you dare call me that now," he snarled, tears pricking at his eyes, "Don't you fucking dare," he whispered, his eyes flashing back to blue as his anger dissolved into pain, and the tears, no matter how desperately he fought against them, fell down his face. He turned away and breathed deeply for several moments to calm his crying, "How long?" he whispered, not looking at them

"Three months," Sasuke replied, ignoring the choked sob from the pink haired kunoichi. Naruto's head snapped up.

"Three Months?" he hissed, his eyes once again turning red, "We've only been dating for six months and you mean to tell me that for half of our relationship, you two have been fucking each other?" Sakura suddenly jumped up.

"No, Naruto!" she cried desperately, her sobs dying out as she took a step toward him, hope sparking in the light emerald depths, "This is the first time we've done it! For three months, Sasuke has been asking me about whether or not I'd be willing to surrogate for him!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"You want a kid?" he asked, dumbfounded. The Uchiha just nodded.

"See Naruto? We were just trying to conceive!" Sakura said smiling a watery smile, laughing slightly in relief. Her smile melted off her face as quickly as it had appeared, though, when she felt a surge of demonic chakra rise from Naruto, and she looked up to be met with an angry red eye.

"No, Sakura," he hissed, glaring angrily at her, "I don't see. I'm not fucking stupid. I know you don't need to have intercourse in order to become a surrogate. So help me god, if this is another of your fucking schemes to get Sasuke away from me, I will-"

"It was my idea," Sasuke interrupted, speaking dryly, as though commenting on the weather. Naruto looked bewildered, staring at Sasuke's face, trying to find some hint of untruth in those words.

"Your idea?" he asked, radiating more evil energy by the second. Sasuke shrugged, which only served to power another surge of chakra, "Did you want to get caught?" Naruto asked incredulously, chakra beginning to billow around him.

"Yes," came the simple reply. Very abruptly, the chakra surrounding Naruto disappeared, and an oppressive silence fell over the room. Naruto's bewildered expression was matched by Sakura, who was regarding the Uchiha as though he was crazy.

"Wha- why?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence.

"Listen, Naruto," Sasuke said flatly, clearly annoyed with the blonde man, "There was only one reason I went out with you, and it wasn't because I liked you." Naruto's eyes widened, hurt evident. Sakura's brows knitted together, looking reprimandingly at the Uchiha, glaring as she tried to silently tell him off. She looked back to Naruto in time to see the hurt melt off his face, and the expression that replaced it was one that sent shivers to her core. His blue eyes, normally radiating mirth, were cold and empty, oddly dull in the candlelit room.

"And what reason was that?" he asked, in a voice so frigid, Sasuke felt compelled to shiver. He fought the urge and continued speaking.

"Do you remember what I told you the council told me, the day I asked you out?" he provided. Naruto's eyes narrowed, shining again as he struggled to recall the conversation.

"You...you said they wanted you to have a kid, but you weren't ready and you were trying to find a way to..." Naruto trailed off as his eyes widened, realization hitting him with the force of one of Tsunade's punches. His eyes filled with a sadness that was greater than either of the other shinobi had ever seen, "You used me?" he asked softly.

"Yes, I did, and it worked," he said, smirking at Naruto's broken face. Sakura was now donning an expression of disgust as she looked at the last Uchiha, anger building inside her, the expression on Naruto's face still burned in her vision.

"Sasuke, how could you?" she asked, her tone expressing such aversion, it sounded as though she was talking about vomit. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Don't play little miss naive now," he snapped, ignoring her growl, "You were completely on board with the idea of sleeping with me." She looked away, tears of shame in her eyes.

"What a mistake that was," she said, her voice thick due to the sobs that threatened to release themselves at any moment, "You're pathetic," she whispered, "I would never knowingly hurt Naruto-"

"Sakura, shut up," Naruto growled. She stopped, an expression of shock preventing the tears from falling any further. Even Sasuke looked mildly surprised. Naruto turned to face the other man, anger returning to his features, "So what, Sasuke, what now? You used me to get the council off your back. Why didn't you just dump me? Why put me through this? I don't get it."

"Because, dobe," he sighed, ignoring Naruto's snarl at this, "I wanted to make it clear that I don't want anything to do with you anymore." Sakura gasped slightly, and Naruto's face once again became an emotionless mask. A silence occurred, while they absorbed the weight of that comment. Then:

"How could you say something like that?" Sakura screeched, "Naruto is your best friend!"

"He was," Sasuke corrected, "He was my best friend. And he was useful while I was getting people to trust me again. For that you have my thanks," he nodded at Naruto, whose face was still blank, "I have regained the trust of my comrades; now I need to regain the trust of the villagers. What better way than to break the nine-tails' heart?" There was a pregnant pause in the room. Naruto's face was blank and staring, his blue eyes empty. Sakura looked as though someone had just spat in her face. Then she snarled.

"Sasuke!" she yelled, "Don't you dare-"

"Sakura," Naruto said quietly, effectively silencing her, his empty eyes staring at the ground, "This isn't your fault. I don't blame you."

"Naruto," she started but was interrupted as an empty, tear-filled sapphire looked her directly in the eye. She looked away, "I'm sorry," she whispered brokenly.

"You don't need to apologize," he said, "Sasuke has always been willing to sacrifice anyone to get his way," his voice became angry as he said this, his eyes once again flaring crimson, as demonic red chakra began to coat his body.

You," he spat, glaring at Sasuke, who looked supremely cavalier, "How dare you," Naruto spoke in a low voice, seemingly ignorant as a vermillion tail rose from the base of his spine. Sasuke's dark eyes followed it carefully, maintaining his disinterested expression, watching as it undulated slightly, "I gave up four years looking for you, to save you, to bring you home. The only reason you're not a blood-stain right now is because I saved your ass," at this, Sasuke growled indignantly, his eyes still not leaving the second tail that was now rising from behind the distraught blonde, "I am the only reason you even had the chance to get people to trust you again. And you have the nerve to use me?" A third tail was now making an erratic path upward from Naruto's lower back. His skin was beginning to burn off, filling the room with an acrid smell that caused the Uchiha to wrinkle his nose slightly. Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and the third tail halted its ascent, before rapidly reversing its path and disappearing back into the scarlet energy. He opened his eyes, staring emotionlessly at the Uchiha.

"You're pathetic," he stated. At this, Sasuke snarled shot forward, kunai in hand, in a barely discernable attack. He was easily defected by one of the tails, being thrown against the wall as though he was a rag doll. Sasuke hit the ground heavily, his ears ringing slightly, and was met with cold, cruel laughter. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "You know all those people whose trust you were trying to regain?" Sasuke regarded Naruto with a guarded expression, his right arm bent at an awkward angle, "They all wanted you dead;" Sasuke couldn't conceal the surprise before Naruto's demonically enhanced senses caught it, flitting across his face. The demon container smirked, "Oh yes. You didn't know?" he waited for a moment, then, "Answer me," he growled smirk transforming into a snarl. The voice was so commanding, Sakura couldn't believe this was Naruto. She looked at Sasuke, and saw him shake his head very slightly. She looked back to Naruto, whose smirk returned, widening in satisfaction, "It's true. Every single one of them wanted you dead. Even Sakura," he gestured toward the woman, who was trembling, "wanted you thrown in prison. The villagers were furious when they found out you were released. They all wanted you dead. All of them," Sasuke attempted to hold the gaze, but was forced to turn away at the coldness in his teammate's usually warm eyes, "Except me." This was barely heard, but caused Sasuke's head to snap up. Naruto began speaking quietly.

"Tsunade was going to sign an order for your execution. She had the pen in her hand when I got to her office. I begged and pleaded, but the council had already decided. So I went to them," his voice was increasing in volume as he spoke, his eyes focused his teammate's unresponsive face, "I didn't know if there was anything I could do, but I had to try. I ran into two of the elders, Homura-san and Koharu-san, and we made a deal. If I left the village for a year, to give you time to settle away from my 'influence', as they put it, they would allow you to live," Sasuke was looking at Naruto calculatingly now, his dark eyes looking at the emotionless face, trying to determine whether or not he was lying. The two tails were still present, swishing behind him as a fox's would. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his teammate's evident doubt, "You don't believe me? I look for you for four years, and the moment I get you back, I leave for a year? Why did you think I was gone? Training? Or are you really that stupid?" Sasuke said nothing. Naruto looked at him for a few more moments, before turning to face the door, "You have made a grave mistake here tonight, Uchiha-san," Sasuke winced at the use of the honorific, "One that you will regret. You have become more like that traitorous snake than you realize," Sasuke looked angry at this, his face contorting into an angry snarl. He growled slightly, but otherwise remained silent, "You are not even half the shinobi your brother was," Sasuke looked shocked, and even Sakura was surprised. Everyone who knew Sasuke knew that his brother was a very sore subject with the youngest Uchiha, "and you never will be. I only met him once, but from what I can tell, if he were still here, he wouldn't want anything to do with what you've become."

"You don't fucking know anything about him! You're just a fucking monster! What the fuck would you know?!" Sasuke suddenly roared, apparently too angry to think straight; yelling at a demon was not wise. Silence followed this statement before Naruto turned to face the Uchiha. Sakura gasped; the pure hatred that filled Naruto's eyes was terrifying. Sasuke shivered.

"I could take it when the villagers said that to me," he said, glaring so harshly, Sakura was certain, at least from her vantage point, that Sasuke would burst into flames at any moment, "But I never thought I would hear you say that. It seems you really do hate me," the last part came out in a quiet voice, and Naruto looked away as tears filled his scarlet eyes, only to evaporate from the heat of the red chakra. He looked back up, his eyes now cold and dull, before delivering his final message: "Well you finally got your wish. Because believe me, after tonight, the feeling is mutual," and with that he disappeared, but not before the two shinobi left in the room registered the choked sob that escaped him.

**Linebreak**

Six months. That was how long the village's number one, hyperactive, knuckle-headed ninja had been dating the emotionally-stunted raven avenger. Ten minutes was how long it took for the raven to destroy that relationship and effectively sever all ties with the jinchuuriki. Two minutes was how long it took the quickly transforming demon container to reach a deep section of forest. And fifteen seconds was how long it took him to effectively wipe out all life within a ten mile radius of himself. Six months. That's how long it took for Naruto's best friend to break his heart.


	2. Repercussions

**A/N:** So, I finally understand that I have to put these thingers in the original document. I always thought there was a special section when you submitted a story, you know, that just lets you add these things. Apparently not. Anyway, thanks to all those who reviewed. I never understood why people always begged for reviews, but I do now. Special thanks to **hotohori's empress **for being my first reviewer!! If I had the power to send small, bite-sized snacks through e-mail, you'd be the first to know. To ALL reviewers, regarded most highly: do not fear. Sasuke **will** get his. Several times actually. But no!! I musn't reveal the future of my first fic!! -evil grin-

**Disclaimer: **I did not own Naruto in my last chapter, and I do not own it now. Believe me, if I did, Sasuke wouldn't be stupid enough to leave; Itachi wouldn't have been forced to kill his family (they still would've died, just some other way. The Uchiha were crazy!) and would be the perfect uncle; and Naruto and Sasuke would be together, raising several children birthed by surrogate mother Sakura (who would have developed a special technique that allowed her to give the children Sasuke and Naruto's DNA only), all of whom would possess a kick-ass blue Sharingan (courtesy of Naruto).

And after that obscenely long disclaimer, on to the Story!! (not beta'd)

**--Two Months Later--**

"Shizune, could you please have these documents delivered to the council? They'll skin me alive if I don't get them in. They're already three weeks late." The Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village sighed wearily as her assistant took the papers from her hands. Tsunade turned to stare out the large window adorning her office, her eyes sad and blank, as they had been the last several weeks. Ever since that day...Shizune inwardly sighed. All too easily she could recall the image that had put her mistress into this state: a pair of cold, empty blue eyes, more frigid than the northmost tundra; eyes that had once caused all who looked into them to become lost and forget, if only temporarily, all that had troubled them. A blank, emotionless face, tear streaks the only sign that the gaunt visage was possible of producing emotion. The grin that normally graced the handsome youth's features was gone, erased so completely, it seemed as though it had never existed. The most startling change of all however, was the sudden lust for blood. The moment the blonde had awakened in the hospital (Kakashi had found him in the forest in the center of a vast crater, unconcious and utterly exhausted), he had refused to see anyone other than the Hokage. The moment he stepped into her office, face devoid of any emotion, they both knew something was off. Severely off. But he had refused to say anything about whatever had caused this cataclysmic change, which only served to worry them more.

He had calmy asked for a solo mission, referring to Tsunade as _Hokage-sama_, which had left the women gaping for several moments. He said he would prefer an assassination, but would accept anything as long as it lasted at least a week. Tsunade had outright refused, saying that Naruto must be delirious from his most recent encounter with the Kyuubi, but paused in the middle of her rant about medical responsibility when she heard an almost imperceptible "please," which, coupled with the hauntingly dispirited eyes that met hers, rendered her speechless. She had stared at Naruto for several minutes before mumbling a begrudged "fine," and handing him a mission scroll. He had left immediately, making use of a body-flicker technique neither of the women in the office were aware he knew, and was gone for two weeks. He returned, providing a mission report that gave full details of how he had carried out the ANBU-level mission flawlessly, and he had immediately requested another. And that was the same process that had been repeated for two whole months, and Shizune knew it was taking a toll on her sensei.

"Tsunade-sama," she ventured, attempting to distract the woman, "would you like a glass of sake?" Shizune was already reaching into the cabinet, her hand on the glass stopper of the elegant, western-style brandy set that had been a gift from the lord of a far off country. He had sent a sample of the liquid, but Tsunade had been disgusted, and ordered it to be emptied and replaced with sake. Shizune smiled slightly at the memory, already beginning to pour a glass when she heard her teacher's soft reply.

"No, thank you, Shizune," she said, and Shizune sighed, abruptly halting the liquid just as the meniscus was about to rupture. She set down the flask and replaced the stopper, before turning to look at the Hokage's distraught face.

"Tsunade-sama," she began, but was silenced as the woman raised a fair but commanding hand.

"Shizune, please take those documents to the elders as I asked you to," she said, her tone ending the impending conversation before it started, "I need to do paperwork and cannot afford to be not of a sound mind."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Shizune said, defeated, picking up the papers and preparing to exit the office, when a sharp rapping sounded on the door.

"Enter," Tsunade said, placing her quill back into the ink well before providing her full attention to whoever was about to enter. The door opened, and Shizune caught sight of a pale face with dark, hooded eyes, both framed by blue-black bangs. She immediately recognized him, even before he began to speak.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" he intoned listlessly, his voice betraying no emotion. Tsunade eyed him carefully, inspecting him as though she was about to operate on him.

"Yes," she replied after a moment, placing a pair of reading glasses onto the bridge of her nose and beginning to fish through the sea of paperwork on her desk. After a few moments of rummaging, she pulled up a document, and began to peruse it, "Ah, yes," she said after a moment, "here it is. The council has decided to allow you to take the Chuunin exams this year." The man's only response was a curt nod. Shizune tuned out her sensei as she began to explain the council's strictures placed upon him during the exams, and instead studied the Uchiha's beautiful face, becoming lost, once again, in her thoughts.

Uchiha Sasuke. This man before her was another of the problems placing pressure on the Hokage, though the reasoning was different. That same night that Naruto had come to Tsunade's office, the Uchiha had shown up in the hospital, severely injured, with nearly every bone in his body broken. He had nearly fallen into a coma, and if not for Tsunade's amazing medical abilities, he would have been unable to move for the rest of his life. When questioned, he refused to say anything pertaining to the matter at all, and just kept asking when he could leave. This only served to anger Tsunade further, and she had threatened the Uchiha with bodily harm, which Shizune was more than certain she would have carried out, if another problem hadn't erupted the next day.

Tsunade's number one apprentice and most highly regarded student, Haruno Sakura, as it turned out, was the one responsible for putting the Uchiha into his current state. The only reason Tsunade found out was because Sakura had come to her and requested that Sasuke be removed from her team, declaring that she refused to so much as speak with that man ever again. She, too, however, refused to answer Tsunade's question regarding what happened to Naruto; though, judging by how miserable her face became at the mention of her teammate's name, she knew something crucial. After Sakura's refusal, Tsunade had temporarily given up trying to find out what was wrong, and began trying to remedy the situation with the broken team. Naruto, she had decided, was proving himself to be quite the shinobi, and should be left alone until the problem could be given full attention; he was completing difficult missions with tact and deftness that was diplayed only by the highest ranking members of the ANBU captains. Sakura, she decided, would remain on the team with only Sai and Yamato, but she would be getting fewer missions; Tsunade decided to give her more time at the hospital, which she felt would help get her mind off the entire situation. Shizune vaguely wondered if that was what her sensei wanted; she always remebered Tsunade being most relaxed after a shift at the hospital. Apparently, her student felt the same way, because Sakura seemed less and less hostile toward Sasuke (the first she saw him after he was released, the two got into a fight that destroyed a large block of houses), to where, upon seeing him, she would merely stiffen her shoulders and remain so until he was out of sight. Sasuke was, by far, the easiest to accomodate. Seeing as the man was under all kinds of strictures, he didn't have much choice in what was going on, so Tsunade merely assigned him to nighttime guard duty in the village during the week. If he was dissatisfied, he had yet to say anything; though the situation seemed to be affecting him most harshly.

It was strange. When the "incident," as they referred to it, had first occurred, he had seemed fine. Better even, and much more social and willing to cooperate. Well, still not as willing as normal people, but he was an Uchiha, and you take what you can get. He had begun accepting missions where he was required to go out and interact with the villagers, actually speak with them as humans. After about two weeks, however, he reverted back to his usual self and began guard duty. The next six weeks wrought a greater change in him than Shizune had ever thought she would see. He began arriving late to guard duty, and forgot to hand in the reports afterward. He began to withdraw even more into himself, never leaving his house except to report to Tsunade and his post. Even now, looking closely, Shizune saw several flaws on the man. His clothes were wrinkled, and he was wearing differently colored socks. There were dark bags under his eyes, and his face looked paler and more gaunt than usual, which was saying something. The frown lines on his forehead had deepened harshly, and his hair looked stringy, as though it hadn't been washed in several days. His eyes, though, held the biggest change; they were completely empty, even moreso than Naruto's had been, and they were oddly dull. He looked at Tsunade as if she wasn't there, as though he was seeing through her and not paying attention to anything she said. All in all, he looked awful. Shizune couldn't help but wonder if his romantic involvement with Naruto was the cause of all of this.

Shizune's thoughts were interrupted by a growl that emitted from low within the Uchiha's throat. He had evidently caught her staring and was not pleased. She blushed lightly at the harsh glare he directed at her and snatched the files off the desk.

"I'll take these now," she said, and scampered out of the office. The door shut quietly behind her, draping the office in an awkward silence. After a few moments, Tsunade placed the document she was holding onto her desk and removed her glasses, setting them aside. She brought her hands up to form a pyramid by lacing her fingers, upon which she rested her chin. She fixed the Uchiha with a steely glare, her normally kind, amber eyes radiating anger.

"Uchiha," she said, her voice carrying a strong resolve, "what is about to happen is nothing that neither you nor anyone else involved is going to change." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I see you're confused," she said, smirking slightly, apparently taking joy in the fact that the Uchiha was not as all-knowing as he acted, "Don't worry," she said, "all will be clear in just a couple seconds," and then there was silence. Two seconds later, as if on cue, a knock sounded at the door, "Enter," Tsunade called quietly. The door opened and in stepped another of the three involved.

"You wanted to see-" Sakura started, but she spotted Sasuke, "I see you're busy," she said, unable to keep the disgust from her voice, "I'll come back when-"

"No, you won't," Tsunade said sharply, "Come in and shut the door behid you," Sakura was unresponsive, staring at Tsunade, defiance in her eyes. Tsunade was in shock (inwardly, of course). Sakura had always been the most cooperative shinobi she had ever met. Whatever happened must have affected her greatly. Still, it was not wise to disobey the Hokage, let alone Tsunade. She narrowed her eyes, "That was an order, not a request. You will obey me or you will be thrown in the prison for the night." Sakura still did not respond. Tsunade's eyes flashed dangerously, and in a voice laced with pure venom, she threatened, "Would you be foolish enough to think I am bluffing?" The two glared at each other for a few moments before Sakura turned away, slamming the door shut with an angrily muttered "fine." A silence fell over the office as Tsunade once again returned to paperwork, ignoring the questioning glare she was recieving from her student. Just as Sakura opened her mouth to speak, Tsunade spoke: "We are waiting for one more person," she said, "and when he arrives, we are going to have a conversation." Both Sasuke and Sakura started slightly, Sakura gasping quietly and Sasuke looking up eyes frantically searching Tsunade's face, as though he thought she was lying. When Tsunade merely turned back to her paperwork, ignoring them both, the tension in the room became palpable and from the corner of her eye, Tsunade could see fear in the eyes of both her subordinates. She smirked slightly.

The next several minutes in the office were dead silent. Sakura was pretty certain she could have heard a pin drop, in spite of the carpet. After a few seconds, she pulled her leather gloves from her bag and began to wring them, a nervous habit she had picked up. She chanced a glance out of the corner of her eye at Sasuke, smirking in satisfaction when she saw him fiddling with the hem of his sleeve. _Well, at least he's nervous too, the cocky bastard_. That was Sakura's last thought before she jumped several feet in the air at the sound of a knocking on the door. Tsunade chuckled slightly, and she could almost feel Sasuke's smug smirk. She glared at her teacher, who ignored her.

"Enter," came Tsunade's firm response. The door opened to reveal a distracted looking Shizune.

"Hokage-sama," she said, "Naruto-kun is back from his mission." Tsunade's face split into a large smile.

"Send him in, then," she said, still smiling, proud of how well her plan had worked out. When Shizune did not move, Tsunade sent her a questioning look, "Was there something else?"

"Ano...I delivered the papers, as you asked, to Koharu-san and Homura-san. They asked me to inform you that they would be here shortly to discuss the proposal they gave you." Tsunade looked shocked, before her face split into the biggest shit-eating grin anyone in the room had ever seen.

"Excellent!" she said, looking as a young child would on Christmas morning, "Please send in Naruto-kun and wait outside for the elders." Shizune nodded and left the room. Not two seconds later, the door opened again, this time admitting a young man the age of the two in the room. Both gasped when they caught sight of him, though Sakura much more loudly than Sasuke. He arched a golden eyebrow in their direction, but did nothing more to acknowledge their presence. He walked past them and stood in front of the Hokage's desk, squaring his shoulders and beginning to summarize the more important details of the scroll he carried. His teammates took this opportunity to inspect the changes that had taken place on their youngest member during the two month time in which they hadn't seen him. The most noticeable change was his clothing; no more was the garish orange jumpsuit he had donned just eight weeks prior. He now wore all black that looked extremely good against his naturally sun-kissed skin, and seemed to suit him more than that orange ever did. He wore a pair of loose, black pants that fell flatteringly, cascading all the way down his legs and barely revealing a pair of black geta. Both teammates paused in their journey upward to gaze at how good those pants made his behind look. They caught each other's eyes and looked away, both blushing slightly, temporarily forgetting their fight. Neither could blame the other; Naruto's rear had never looked better. His top half consisted of a black windbreaker, much like the one he had worn when he first got back with training from Jiraiya, only this one was all black. The zipper was pulled far down, revealing a well built chest covered by a mesh shirt. His crystal necklace glinted slightly in the candlelight drawing focus to the groove of his neck. His hair had grown slightly longer, just barely reaching past the collar of his shirt, and his features had hardened slightly. His frame had gained more muscle from the long missions he had been taking; whereas before, he had been considered somewhat fragile-looking (even though he was anything but), the figure standing before them seemed to emit an aura of great power, and both of his teammates were awed by how great he looked.

"Thank you, Uzumaki-san," both teammates raised an eyebrow at the formal greeting, "but I'm sure your report will more than cover everything I need to know."

"As you wish, Tsunade-sama," he replied, smiling slightly. Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Are you feeling better, Naruto?" she asked, "I haven't seen you smile at all for awhile." He nodded, the smile on his face growing ever so silghtly, though still nowhere near his usual ten-thousand watt grin.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice gaining some color and his eyes shining again, albeit very slightly, "While I was on this mission, I managed to save two small children from drowning. It turns out their family members were the owners of the bath house in which they were drowning, so they allowed me to stay in their best room and gave me tons of food, all free of charge. They told me to return whenever I desired, that I would always be welcome."

"That's great, Naruto!" Tsunade exclaimed, unable to contain the happiness at seeing her favorite shinobi returning to normal. He nodded, smile fading slightly.

"Yeah," he said absent mindedly, "It really showed me that there is still good in this world, something I had been doubting for awhile." Behind him, Tsunade saw Sasuke stiffen visibly and Sakura turn her head to the side. She narrowed her eyes at them before turning back to Naruto, who was no longer smiling.

"Aren't you going to greet your comrades, Naruto?" she asked, "It's been awhile since you've last seen them." Narutos shoulders tensed slightly, but he turned to face them, nonetheless. He bowed stiffly.

"Haruno-san, I trust you have been well?" he said, his voice dull, his eyes looking at her with a guarded expression.

"Yes, Naruto, I am well, thank you," she replied, her now pained gaze still directed at the ground. Naruto looked at her dispassionately for a moment more, before turning a cold glare on the Uchiha, his blue eyes like chips of ice. He crossed his arms and leaned back onto his heels.

"And what about you, Uchiha-san? Have your plans to win the villagers over gone well? I certainly hope so," he said in a glacial voice, causing Tsunade to look at Sasuke sharply. Sasuke did not respond, merely shivered slightly at the coldness and stared intently at the ground, "Is that a no? Well, that's too bad," Naruto's voice had now taken on a gloating tone, and he stared at the Uchiha a moment longer, "Pathetic," he muttered, and a tremor shot through Sasuke's body, though he still did not look up, "You look like shit, by the way," Naruto added nonchalantly. _This_ elicited a response from the young Uchiha, his head shooting up, eyes shouting murderous intentions for a certain blonde shinobi. Naruto looked unfazed by the incinerating glare now directed at him, "You don't scare me in the least," he said, and the Uchiha growled slightly. Naruto gave a light, humorless chuckle, before turning his gaze toward Sakura once again. He looked at her face searchingly, speaking after a few moments of silence, "You really should get more sleep, Sakura," he said, and the pinkette looked up, amazed, "It's not healthy. Come on, you work in a hospital for heaven's sake!" Sakura looked at him, mouth opening and closing, as she searched for something to say.

"But Naruto-!" she began.

"No buts," he said, cutting her off, "I already told you, I don't blame you." At this Sakura looked down, shame on her face.

"Yeah, Naruto, but I still hurt you," she said, "It's not about you forgiving me. It's about me forgiving myself," she was speaking quietly, completely unaware of her teacher hanging on to her every word, "You were always so nice to me, and I treated you like crap. Then, when we became friends, you treated as well as everyone else, regardless of how I had treated you in the past. And then...I go and do something like this," at this, tears began to poor down her face, "I'm so sorry!" she sobbed, "I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself!" she dissolved completely into tears, silent sobs wracking her body. Naruto sighed, unfolding his arms as he moved toward her.

"It's good to know _some_ people actually have hearts," he muttered snidely, glaring at the Uchiha, who, to the surprise and general amazement of everyone in the room, did not respond with a glare or any kind of snide remark. He simply stared at Naruto, his dark eyes unreadable, thought they did not seem angered by the comment. Naruto looked surprised and confused, but recovered quickly, cynicism once again covering his features. He hmphed and turned to his pink-haired former teammate. He placed one of his hands on each of her upper arms, and gripped her slightly, "Sakura," he said in a commanding voice, "look at me." The girl looked up, only to be met with a pair of hard, blue eyes, "This is something that has already happened, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to change that," Sakura's tears ceased as she stared into Naruto's eyes, "I have forgiven you and acknowleged that you made a mistake. Now I'm going to be _more_ upset if you don't get past this. I love this village more than anything else, and I won't have someone getting hurt because of your foolish sentiments. Am I clear?" he said. Sakura looked shocked, as did everyone else in the room, "Please," he added softly, "I want us to be friends again," he offered a small smile, which she returned more than enthusiastically, grinning and nodding her head, "Good," Naruto said. He turned back to look at Sasuke, scratching the side of his face disinterestedly, "I'd offer the same advice to you," he said, "but I doubt you'd accept it from the nine-tails." Sasuke flinched visibly and turned his head downward, eyes boring holes into the ground. Sakura looked at the Uchiha, distaste present on her gentle features. Naruto stared at Sasuke for a while longer, expression clouded, before turning to face the Hokage, "May I have another mission, Tsunade-sama?" he asked politely. Tsunade observed him over the tops of her knuckles, staring at him intently.

"Not yet," she said finally, and Naruto's shoulders slumped slightly, "You will remain in the village for a couple of days' rest, at least. Then you may come and request a mission. Whether or not I give you one," she said, a mischevious glint in her eyes, "well that remains to be seen." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the woman.

"Fine," he huffed, "May I go now?"

"No," she said, suddenly brightening, "The elders wanted to speak with you," Naruto's eyes widened, but before he had a chance to speak, Tsunade called out, "Shizune, you may bring them in now!"

"Crap," Naruto muttered, straightening his posture when the door opened. Shizune entered, followed closely by two elderly people, one man and one woman.

"Hello, Uzumaki-san," Koharu said, her voice light but her face hard and lined with age.

"Good evening, Koharu-san, Homura-san," he replied, bowing to each in turn. The man called Homura simply nodded in response, before speaking to Tsunade.

"Have you had a chance to talk to him about it yet?" he asked, glasses shining in the candlelight.

"I haven't," she replied, "So why don't you two tell him?" Tsunade looked as though she very badly wanted to smile broadly, but refrained in the presence of the two elders. Homura looked slightly disgruntled, while Koharu's face remained unchanged.

"Of course," she replied briskly, and turned to face Naruto, who was looking at her with something akin to trepidation, "We would like you to join the ANBU Black Ops for the next three months." Naruto's jaw dropped.

"What?" he gasped.

"Do make me repeat myself," she said in a clipped tone, and Naruto closed his mouth, "You have shown remarkable progress with these last few missions, and it is no secret to any one of our shinobi that you have been holding back your true power. Why, we do not know," Naruto glanced at Sasuke from the corner of his eye in a subconcious display, causing Sasuke to raise an eyebrow "But we want to harness it in the name of the Hidden Leaf Village, and the next three months will be your time to prove yourself." Sakura looked confused.

"'Prove himself'?" she repeated, "Prove himself for what, exactly?"

"Tell me, Haruno-san," It was Homura who spoke, "Do you know what happens three months from tomorrow?" he asked. Sakura thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"Naruto's birthday..." Sasuke murmered, causing Naruto to look at him strangely. The Uchiha's cheeks flushed slightly, and he turned away.

"Correct, Uchiha-san," Homura said, missing the exchange between the blonde and the raven, "We would like to observe you, Uzumaki-san, for the next three months. If you prove satisfactory, though we have no doubt you will, we would like you to assume the position of the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village on your twentieth birthday." Following this statement, a heavy silence fell over the office. Naruto looked like he was in shock, Tsunade and Shizune were both grinning, though the blonde much more widely than the brunette, and Sakura was gaping. Sasuke looked the same as always, though, if one looked very closely at the dark eyes, you could see a torrent of emotions flooding around in a pool of ink. Sakura suddenly burst into a grin.

"Congratulations, Naruto!" she cried, beaming, "This is wonderful!"

"Isn't it?" Tsunade responded, still smiling, "Don't you agree Naru-Naruto?" she turned to face him, but the smile was suddenly wiped from her face. Whereas before, he had been looking straight ahead, shocked, he was now looking downward, his eyes once again dull and lifeless.

"I don't think that is the best idea," he said, and all celebration instantly ceased. Homura, Koharu, and Shizune all looked extremely confused, while Tsunade looked on the verge of being very angry, if the vein on her forehead was any indication. Sakura looked shocked and extremely upset, while Sasuke's dark eyes were now on Naruto's face, darting around frantically.

"What?!" Tsunade ground out, her brow twitching.

"Naruto, what are you saying?" Sakura gasped. Even Sasuke looked as though he wanted to speak.

"You heard me," he replied, "I don't think I can handle that responsibility. I can't read people. Even those closest to me have betrayed me," at this, Sasuke's face hardened, "I won't put this village in danger because I place too much faith in people." His icy gaze was directed toward the ground, and his face was devoid of emotion. The elders looked at each other for a moment, before Koharu spoke to Naruto.

"You are still being promoted to ANBU status," she said, "whether you like it or not. You will be expected to report to us as soon as you are ready to assume this status. Do you understand?" Naruto nodded. Homura stared at him a while longer, before he spoke, too.

"Though you have refused tonight, we do not technically need an answer until October tenth. You have three months to reconsider," then both he and Koharu turned to leave. Homura stopped at the door, looking as though he was carefully choosing words, "Naruto," he said. Naruto looked up, eyes still indecipherable, "We would not have offered this to you had we not believed you were ready. You do not give yourself enough credit." With that final statement, he turned to leave, leaving a stunned Naruto in his wake.

"Naruto," Tsunade said, after a few moments of silence. He looked up, eyes unseeing.

"I just-give me some time," he said. Tsunade looked at him scrutinizingly for several seconds.

"Alright," Tsunade replied finally.

"Thanks," and he flickered out of existence. There was a silence in the office after he left. Then, Sakura turned to glare at Sasuke.

"This is all your fault, you know," she snapped. Sasuke just glared at the floor. Suddenly, he was very forcefully pinned against the wall, a very angry pinkette glaring at him demonically.

"If you don't fix this," she said quietly, her voice barely a whisper, "I'll kill you." She released her grip, allowing Sasuke to fall gracelessly to the ground. Sakura turned to leave the office, killer intent radiating from her like heady perfume. Sasuke muttered something as Sakura placed her hand on the door knob. "What was that?" she asked, glaring at him sharply.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, a little more loudly. Sakura looked surprised for a moment, before her face hardened.

"Don't tell me," she spat, "tell him," then the door slammed. Sasuke sat, staring unblinkingly at the wall for several moments (Tsunade wondered if he was even breathing), before suddenly standing, a look of determination on his pale features. He disappeared a split-second later. Tsunade sighed as she realized her get-the-truth-from-them-using-my-power-as-Hokage! plan had failed, but she couldn't help but feel that something was going to change, and very soon. She hoped desperately that the Uchiha could repair whatever wound he had made on Naruto's heart in time for the hurting blonde to accept the position. She had not known Sasuke to fail, however, only to make stupid choices, and she allowed this to bolster her hope. He would revive the life in the gaki's eyes, or, so help her, she would castrate him for whatever he had done.

**--End--**

How were the characters? Were any of them severely ooc? Besides Naruto, of course.

I really like the exchange with Sakura and Sasuke at the end. Any ideas on what Sasuke can do to win Naruto over? I already have a pretty good idea, but I want to hear your opinions.

Review? Please? Seriously. Do it. Just push the button. Its right there. -points to lower left corner-


	3. Distorted Perceptions

Hey ya'll, Phantom here. I just wanted to let you guys know that I'll try to update once a week. In case you didn't check out my profile (not that I expect you to, but just in case, I put pertinent information there), this story will probably only run anywhere from five to seven chapters. After that, if you guys want one-shots or anything, message me some ideas, if you'd like, and I'd try my best to bring them to life. It sounds weird for me to be saying this. Whatev. Anyway, In this chapter, we'll see the confrontation between Naruto and Sasuke (one of many) and several of the other Konoha 12, Sai, Yamato, and Kakashi. I think you guys will actually be surprised at people's reactions. Hopefully.

**Apologies:** Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!! I have had so much to deal with these last couple weeks. I moved back into school and had band camp, which I despise more than satan. Plus, my dorm is basically the drama center of campus, and mostly my floor. One of my floormates actually found out a person he was trying to hook up with was not even real. So, yeah. Long couple weeks.

**More Apologies: **Um. . .hi. So yeah. I'm dealing with so much shit right now, what with having feelings for a friend of mine with a very fucked up love life. It sucks. I would suggest trying to avoid it. I can't promise to update with any regularity, which is contrary to what I said above. Yeah. Plus my friends are basically ignoring me. Sorry to bitch. I'm done. I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. See previous chapter for wistful, what-if scenario. (mildly funny)

**Warning: **Lots of cursing. That's it.

The moment Sasuke left the Hokage's office, his insincts sought the familiar tingle of Naruto's chakra, locating the blonde after several seconds of concentration. He leapt from the side of the Hokage tower, disappearing into a blur of motion once his feet touched the ground. As he traveled, his sharp eyes began to pick out details that, at one time, were nothing but familiar buildings and houses. He searched his memory banks, and after a few moments, recogized the path as one of many leading to the Hokage Mountain. He vaguely wondered why his blonde friend would be _there_, of all places. _Friend,_ he thought, guilt eating its way into his body as his eyes lowered, _can I really call him that, after what I did? _His train of thought was suddenly thrown off track by the image of a tan, whiksered face with lifeless cerulean eyes, bearing an expression of such overwhelming brokenness, it seemed as though the world had stopped. He suddenly felt a strange, unfamiliar emotion rise in his chest, sending sharp pangs throughout, causing him to falter in his strides. He stumbled several feet forward, nearly falling headfirst to what he was sure would have become an unyielding migraine later. He stopped and shook the image out of his head, placing a hand over his pectoral in a futile attempt to quell the aching in his breast. His breathing remained ragged for several moments. _What the hell is matter with me?_ He finally stood tall and inhaled deeply, his body puffing up with the constrained air, before exhaling slowly, eyes closed, allowing the breath to slightly ruffle the fringe of hair that was hanging into his porcelain face. _This was my choice. Now I must live with it._ After standing still for a few more moments, he shot off once again, ignoring it as rain began to fall from the sky.

He arrived on the Hokage mountain about ten minutes later, panting slightly and dripping wet, dark eyes scanning the area for the familiar blonde. There, atop what, from a distance, would have been the Yondaime's (1) head, sat Naruto, indian style with his knees lifted off the ground and held in place by his inner elbows. His head, which had been bent over, facing the ground, snapped upward as the Uchiha approached, and his entire body tense. He turned his head to the side, looking out of the corner of his eye to confirm his suspicions. Sasuke could tell from Naruto's dripping profile that the man was frowning deeply, and if there was any doubt about the blonde man's annoyance at seeing the raven, it was erased when the blonde spoke.

"What the fuck do you want, Uchiha?" he growled, his tone gravelly. The Uchiha didn't respond immediately, so the blonde turned his face back to looking out over the village, which was now being assaulted by light sheets of rain. Sasuke took a step forward, noting how the man's body relaxed, causing him to quirk an eyebrow.

"Dobe-" he began, but his speech was interrupted as Naruto was instantly before him, fisting his lapel, lifting the shorter man off the ground by several inches. Sasuke found himself looking into Naruto's furious eyes, both blue and red mingling within the irate depths.

"I told you not to call me that!" he hissed, baring canines that were not quite fangs, but not normal, human-sized teeth either, "You lost that right! You lost that right when you betrayed me and slept with my best friend!" he looked very close to tears, but suddenly stopped, dropping the Uchiha unceremoniously to the ground and turning away. Though he avoided falling altogether, Sasuke had nearly lost his his footing in a very noticeable manner, causing an angry flush to cover his cheeks. He didn't have time to speak however, as Naruto began again, "Was there something you wanted, Uchiha?" he asked, his tone chilly, glaring at Sasuke with what were now completely blue chips of ice.

"Naruto," he began, deciding to test the waters before continuing. When the blonde man said nothing, Sasuke hesitated. Suddenly, Naruto looked up, annoyed, and Sasuke realized he was waiting for him to continue. "What the fuck are you doing?" Sasuke snapped, his anger and bitterness beginning to get the better of him, seeping into his tone, "Why didn't you accept? This has been you dream since you were practically in diapers," Naruto chuckled mirthlessly, "and you're going to throw it all away because I dumped you?" Naruto's chuckles died down and faded out completely, leaving them both in an oppressive silence. Sasuke began to wonder if Naruto was simply ignoring him, his anger returning full force. He opened his mouth to shoot out some nasty remark, hoping to earn a response from the man, but his thoughts were cut off and his anger disappeared as Naruto knelt down and placed his hand on the sculpted earth below him.

"Do you know who my father was, Sasuke?" Naruto said in a quiet voice. Sasuke was not even aware he looked as confused as he felt until Naruto looked up at him, once again chuckling, "I'll take that as a no?" Sasuke's only response was a quiet "hn" that only caused Naruto to chuckle more, "Okay," he said, "I'll give you a hint: you're standing on his head." At this, Sasuke looked even more bewildered (as much as an Uchiha can, anyway) as his dark eyes darted around. He looked down, and followed the path of the stone outward, eyes widening slightly when he finally understood.

"Your father was the fourth?" Sasuke asked incredulously. Naruto nodded, smiling sadly as he rubbed the red earth with his hand.

"Yup," he responded, "and that's why I know I can't be the Hokage." As the words left Naruto's mouth, Sasuke felt his jaw nearly drop at the incredibly illogical gibberish that had come from the man's mouth.

"That's why you _can't _be Hokage?" he repeated, dumbfounded, "How the fuck does that make _any_ sense in that tiny brain of yours?" He saw Naruto frown slightly at the insult, but the blonde didn't say anything. Instead, he stood upright and looked out over Konoha. He remained in a pensieve silence, his lips pressed into a thin line as he thought. Then, he spoke.

"I remember, when I was very little, hearing people talk about him. The amazing fourth Hokage, loved by all, who willingly sacrificed his life to protect them," though his back was turned Sasuke could tell that Naruto's expressive eyes were filled with sadness, his tone thick with emotion, "I heard those same people, in the same breath, talk about the dirty monster boy with no family. The parentless demon prankster, out to make their lives miserable. The little boy who had no friends and never should." Naruto's voice evened out and gained strength as he spoke his next words, one that left Sasuke feeling shaken, "They hated me then, and they hate me now. They loved my father, and he ended up dead protecting them. Do you have any idea how many of them tried to kill me?" Sasuke sincerely hoped that question was rhetorical, "Hundreds. Imagine being seven and having shuriken dodging practice because some chuunin think it's funny to attack the Kyuubi vessel," Naruto sounded angry now, and Sasuke could almost see the fangs from under his lips. He vaguely wondered how long this emotional kaleidoscope was going to continue.

"And then I found you." Sasuke stopped wondering. Naruto looked at him with a small smile, eyes filled with such unfettered emotion, Sasuke was suddenly having trouble breathing, "and everything got better," the smile grew, "I finally felt like someone saw me for me, not the Kyuubi. I wasn't foolish enough to think that we were friends, but still, it was nice to have and impartial teammate," his face grew hard, "and then you left. It was then I realized that you were my best friend, my redemption the light in my darkness. So I decided to be yours," Sasuke, being Sasuke, was becoming very uncomfortable with the blatant displays ot emotion on his teammate's face, but he found himself unable to look away, "I got you back. I saved you. And everything was good. For a time," Naruto was staring intensely into Sasuke's eyes, rendering him immobile as the blond man approached, "but everything changed that night," Naruto's voice was diminishing as he got closer to Sasuke, "That night, my light was gone," his eyes never left Naruto's. He was only a few feet away now, hair sticking to his face, weighed down by the water, "My friend, my teammate..." Sasuke could feel Naruto's breath on his lips now, the man was so close. He kept his eyes focused on Naruto's broad chest however, afraid to look into the sapphires at this close range. He felt Naruto lean slightly past him, and in what was barely a breath ghosting across his ear, he heard, "The man that I loved..." Sasuke's eyes snapped up, wide in unconcealed shock, as his jaw slackened and he stared at Naruto in unflattering disbelief.

"Wh-what?" he gasped, suddenly overwhelmed by the citron scent Naruto was exuding. His head was spinning, and his lungs suddenly felt constricted. Naruto moved away and gave a beautiful, melancholy smile that reached into Sasuke's chest and wrenched his heart, before replying:

"If I can't trust the person I put all of my faith into, how can I be trusted to protect an entire village?" disappearing a second later, leaving Sasuke to collapse to the ground.

**--Linebreak--**

Sasuke did not sleep well that night. He didn't really sleep at all, as a matter of fact. Every time he tried to close his eyes, all he could see was Naruto's happy face, eyes squeezed shut due to the force of the breathtaking smile on his face. That face. Sasuke growled in frustration and threw a particularly harsh punch at the pole in front of him, causing it to splinter and fly in all directions, several shards grazing his face. He vaguely registered blood seeping from the new wounds, and could slightly feel it dripping from his recently injured fist. But that pain was nothing compared to pain he felt whenever he thought of his teammate's once incessantly happy face, now a thing of the past because of his own selfish desires. He cried out again, an angry, hurt sound, before coming to a second log and splintering that one as well. He stopped afterward, panting slightly. He had been training since early morning in an attempt to get the do- Naruto out of his head, but it didn't seem to work. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't erase the image from his retinas. It seemed like the moment Naruto told him that he- Sasuke couldn't even comprehend it. His mind was reeling ever since Naurto's confession. He knew he had to think about, comprehend, and deal with this new bit of information, but he seemed unable to do so. The look on Naruto's face...his eyes, shining with emotion...Sasuke let out another scream and moved to demolish the third and final of the three wooden pillars on the training field, but a sudden pressure on his wrist stopped him in his tracks.

It took Sasuke's sleep deprived brain a few seconds to realize that he had indeed been stopped, by a hand on his pale wrist. His stared at it for several moments, trying to comprehend what was happening, before a voice snapped him out of his daze.

"Y'know, Sasuke," Kakashi said in a drawl voice, "Other people use this field, too. The Hokage won't be too happy about this." Sasuke wrenched his wrist from Kakashi's grasp, shooting the little orange book in his sensei's hands an incinerating glare as though it was the root of his problems.

"Must you read that garbage when you talk to people?" he snapped, walking away without awaiting a response, almost overwhelmed by his own body odor. He had every intention of taking a very long shower when he returned to his house, somehow harboring the hope that he could wash away the cacophony of emotions he was feeling. Kakashi snapped the book shut, glaring at Sasuke through narrowed eyes.

"Listen," he snapped, "just because you fucked up things with your life doesn't mean you should take it out on my book." His narrowed further as his student merely ignored his comment and trudged onward. Kakashi cursed himself slightly for his little outburst, jogging to catch up and walk alongside the Uchiha. They walked in silence for several moments, before Kakashi spoke again, "I heard about what happened," he said, "With Naruto," he added, noting the way Sasuke stiffened. The raven haired man kept walking, though his pace quickened noticeably, and knew he had struck a nerve. He stopped following the man, watching him for several moments, before leaving him with one more comment, "Watch out for Hinata," then disappearing. Sasuke stopped and looked back, only to find that Kakashi had already left. _Watch out for Hinata?_ What the hell did that mean? Sasuke searched his brain. Hyuuga Hinata. The cowardly heiress to the Byakugan lineage. That's right. She was the one who crushed on Naruto for all those years, the one who stuttered. Sasuke frowned. What that hell was that crazy scarecrow talking about?

**--Linebreak--**

It turns out that Kakashi's advice had been right on the money. But no, he had to ignore his stupid ass sensei in favor of being the almighty Uchiha Sasuke who never makes bad choices. Which was why he was now cradling an icepack to a to a severely blackened left eye, courtesy of Hyuuga Hinata. He couldn't believe it when the formerly timid heiress let loose, ignoring all proper Hyuuga combat methods and landed a hit that was so powerful, he was sure she had channeled the spirit of Tsunade, who was probably passed out drunk on her desk. He _knew _she used chakra to cause his eye to do this. He had iced it, creamed it, and done everything imaginable, but the massive bruise that seemed to continually expand was not aquiescing to his attempts. He was almost positive he could have heard it laughing at him, but he wrote it off as nothing more than sleep deprivation. He was now sitting in a hospital chair with the almighty Uchiha scowl on his face, sending chills through everyone who passed too closely. Several nurses had attempted to approach, silly grins sitting under flushed cheeks, but they had all been driven away by a sudden, laser-like glare from the furious Uchiha. He was too busy glaring at the most recent of these, in his opinion, foolish women to notice the approach of the blonde that was currently vexing him more than Uchiha should ever be vexed. He suddenly jumped when a voice sounded from directly behind him.

"You know, they's probably be a lot more willing to help your bastard ass if you wouldn't glare at them every time they looked at you," Naruto said, smirking as Sasuke turned his glare onto the man standing behind him. Sasuke released his glare when he realized who it was, schooling his face into blankness. He turned away before he spoke.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked quietly. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his former teammate's sudden shyness, staring at his back thoughtully for several seconds before replying.

"I heard about what happened with Hinata," he said, unable to keep a small grin from his face, despite his ex's strange behavior, "So she punched you, huh? I heard she metioned something about me..." he trailed off, awaiting Sasuke's inevitable clarification of events. Sasuke was silent for several moments, causing Naruto to shift from foot to foot.

"Yes," Sasuke answered quietly, "she did," he spoke without turning around, his bangs falling gracefully over his face.

"Well sorry," Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in a familiar gesture. He grinned sheepishly and looked up, only to find Sasuke's face a few inches from his own.

"How the fuck can you be like that?" he shouted. His face was slightly flushed, causing a strange coloration in the bruise on his face. He looked angry. No, he looked furious. Naruto's open mouth opened further as he realized that Sasuke had unknowingly activated his Sharingan, and watched in wonder as the tomoes spun faster than he had ever seen them. "How can you talk to me like I'm a friend when I made it clear that we aren't?" A deafening silence followed that statement, broken only by Sasuke's slight panting. Naruto's eyes had once again glazed over, the blue dulling, and his expression returned to emotionless.

"Sorry," he replied, "I won't let it happen again," and he turned to walk away. Sasuke's stood there, eye's now Sharingan free, a look of utter confusion on his face as he contemplated what he had said to cause Naruto to become that upset. When he realized what he had said, his eyes widened, and he turned to bury his fist into the wall. He was further disappointed when it was caught by Kakashi, who, if the look on his face was any indication, had heard the conversation and was not happy. He was staring at Sasuke, eyes mirthless. He remained silent for a few moments, gripping Sasuke's hand with an iron fist, before speaking:

"You need to figure out what you want, Sasuke," he said, "and you need to do it before you hurt anyone else." He released Sasuke's hand, and the two stood for a few minutes, silent and unmoving, before Sasuke disappeared soundlessly. Kakashi shook his head, before reaching into his pocket to pull out his signature hentai book and walking away. Anyone who looked closely enough, however, would have seen his eyes glazed over and unseeing as he contemplated the stupidity of his ex-students.

**Author's Notes:** I am ashamed. Holy crap. I am sorry. Really. I know you probably don't want excuses, so I won't bore you with how shitty my life has become.


	4. Kurenai's Advice

**A/N: **Meh. Sorry for taking so long, guys. I really wanted to update sooner, but my life exploded. School kicked my ass, and I told someone I liked them for the first time, only to get rejected, so I was dealing with that, too. I also lost ideas for this story, but I have gotten past that to produce this. I hope it's worth the wait, though I doubt it.

**Warnings: **Cursing is all. Maybe a boyxboy kiss O.o. You have been warned, homophobes (pronounced l-o-s-e-r-s)!!

**Dislcaimer:** It's depressing that all this does is remind me that I do not own Naruto...

"So, Sasuke-kun, why have you come to me?"

The moment those words left the red lips, Sasuke began to regret his decision. He didn't answer. After his encounter with Naruto, he had decided that he couldn't do what needed to be done. At least, not without some guidance. So he decided to come to someone whose reputation in the village for offering relationship council was non-paralleled. He had heard once from Ino (actually, he had been easvesdropping on a conversation between Ino and Sakura) that this woman gave her sage advice and Ino had realized that it was time to move on from Sasuke. Sasuke had decided at that moment that this woman must be very good with this kind of thing if she got Ino to stop pursuing him. So here he sat, uncomfortable as all hell, in the kitchen of Yuuhi Kurenai.

"Would you like some tea?" she offered politely, her scarlet eyes never leaving him. Sasuke nodded and silence reigned as she turned to put a pot of water onto the stove. She bustled around quietly, making herself busy until a few moments later when the shrill whistling of the tea kettle sounded. With unerring accuracy, she plucked the kettle from the flame, causing an instant cessation of the sharp noise. She placed the kettle in front of Sasuke on a hotpad, and turned again, this time returning with a rainbow of teabags and two mugs, "Please help yourself," she said as she placed them in front of him. She plucked a jade green teabag for herself, and sat quietly while her tea steeped, her eyes watching him carefully. They didn't leave as he reached out a picked a tea that some thought acerbic, though he himself was quite fond of. He poured the water and inhaled the scent deeply, catching a whiff of Kurenai's tea, which seemed to be some sort of Jasmine.

"So, Sasuke-kun, why are you here?" she asked, echoing her words from earlier. Sasuke looked up to her face, finding it quite unreadable. The two stared at each other for a moment more, before Kurenai sighed and broke the eye contact, "I can only assume you're here to discuss what happened between you and Naruto-kun." Sasuke gave no outward sign of registry other than the split-second in which his eyes darted up to the face of the woman. She, of course, caught this gesture and smiled slightly, "I guess it is," she said quietly, igoring the glare Sasuke had directed at her, "Listen, Sasuke, I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm sure it can be resolved if you just talk to him." Sasuke gave a humorless chuckle at that, but said nothing. Kurenai frowned slightly, her flawless face distorted in confusion. Sasuke noticed this and schooled his face back to emotionlessness before speaking.

"Don't you think I've tried that?" he said, and Kurenai's frown faded to be replaced with a look of comprehension.

"Um...okay, well, what exactly did you say to him?" she asked. She watched as the dark haired shinobi struggled with keeping his tumultuous emotions inward as he semingly recalled the conversation.

"I don't really remeber exactly - something about how we're not friends and that he should leave me alone." He spoke in a quiet monotone and his dark gaze was still burning a hole into kurenai's wooden table. After he finished, he looked up only to her see her concentrating heavily upon her tea. When she spoke, her vision remained honed on the teacup.

"It sounds to me, Sasuke, like your problem isn't that you can't talk to him. I'm sure Naruto can be persuaded to listen," Kurenai said, her crimson eyes finally travelling upward to meet Sasuke's obsidian glare, "The problem seems to be that you don't know what to say." Sasuke barely restrained himself from blurting out a valley girl 'duh'. _I have to stop hanging out with Sakura so much..._ Kurenai raised an eyebrow at the strange look that crossed the Uchiha's face, curious about his lack of response. "Well?" she said.

Sasuke snapped his head up and regarded the woman with annoyance. "And how do you propose I fix that?" he asked icily. She regarded him quietly, contemplating her response carefully before she spoke.

"There is only one way," she said quietly, a small smile on her face, "Tell him the truth." Sasuke blinked. Before he could say anything, however, Kurenai continued, "You obviously care about him. All you need to do is let him know that. But with you, perhaps talking isn't the answer..." she trailed off. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asked, genuine confusion evident in his voice.

"I mean," she replied, "that you _show _him. I already have a plan..."

Sasuke vaguely wondered if he should be concerned at all at the glint in her eye, but it was quickly extinguished by his yearning to have Naruto back in his life. He had experienced life with him and without, and the former was far more bearable, bordering on enjoyable. Besides, he recently discovered that Naruto thought he was a seme, which he was planning to prove false. Several times. He smirked. This would be fun...

**A/N: **Okay, sorry it's so short, but the next chapter will be longer and the last, and I didn't want to split it up. Not beta'd.


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